Wall covering fixture



pmll 18, 1944. s. P. LlcHToR W ALL COVERING FIXTURE vFiled March 50, 1942 Milli.

Patented Apr. 18, 1944 UNITED STATES GFFICE WALL. COVEIHNG. FIXTURE Samuel l. Lichter, Kansas City, Mo.

Application March 30, 1942,' Serial No. 43:3,'193

(ci. 2li-1n- 2. Claims.

This invention relates to the art of applying paneling or similar wall coveringv to structures, and is a continuation in part of my co-pending application Serial No. 381,457, filed March 3, 1941.

One of the important aims of the instant invention is the provision of means for removably positioning Wall covering, which means comprises cooperating resilient elements having parts that releasably interconnect, to the end vthat the wall covering may. be quickly and easily attached or detached. from the surface. of the structure walls.

A yet further object of the invention is the .provision of unique, novel, inexpensive and positively acting parts for releasably securing panels to the surface of walls, which means has a portion thereof permanently attached to the wall to cooperate with units either directly on the panel, superimposed thereagainst, or detachably associated therewith.

This invention has for a still further object, the provision of means for supporting lpanels in a manner described in my U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,208,159, but through the employment of parus not disclosed in said patent, and which are believed to be more economical to produce, easy to operate, and more effective in allowing the user to accomplish the desired end.

In my aforesaid patent, parts of the fixtures employed were made to form a portion of the building or set in the structure during its erection. In the instant invention, means for detachably securing the panels are added to the surface of the walls of the structure without affecting the same, and in a manner to present an even group of anchors arranged to hold the wallboard in a predetermined position without regard to the unevenness of the underlying structure wall. One of the specific objects of this invention therefore, is to provide means for attaching panels to at surfaces, which means contemplates elements attachable to not only the building, butxto the panel itself after the latter has been formed.

Specific objects of the invention include details of structure which will appear during the course of the following specification, referring to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a fragmentary condensed plan view of a wall having panels covering the same and held in place by fixtures made in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view of a wall panel having thereon the fixture parts which cooperate With members on the building.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of that portion of the resilient fixture which is arranged for attachment to the wall-board.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detailed sectional View through a part of a structure wall, illustrating the manner of removably supporting a panel through resilient xtures that may be associated with the building wall and panel after the same have been constructed. Y

Fig. 5 is a stretch-out fragmentary sectional view of the parts shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a similar view illustrating cooperating members embodying a modified form of the invention.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary detailed sectional view through a wall. and panel illustrating another form of the invention; and

Fig. 8'. is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing Still another manner of employing the resilient fastener principle for securing wallboards.

Panels l!) are shown throughout all of the views of the drawing to be of conventional nature well-known in the art, and in Figs. l and 2, the panels I0 are shown mounted directly against the surface of the supporting structure of wall I2. Panels I8 may extend from ceiling I4 to oor It and while panels I0 are illustrated to be attached to a vertical wall of structure I2, it is understood that the same may be applied to the ceiling if desired.

1n the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. l, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7, wall I2 is provided with an expansion bolt 36 and a screw 38 movable to and from the position shown in Fig. 4. Screw 38 has a head 4l) that fits into socket member 42 carried by tape 44 fastened directly to one face of panel I by adhesive 45. The use of adhesive 45 renders it possible for the user to apply tape 44 on the job or the factory may assemble the wall-board I Il and adhesive 44 at the factory after wall-board Il] is complete. The distance between screws 38 and members 42 on tape 44 should be the. same so that assembly may easily occur when any type of wall-board is being applied to the structure.

Another way of removably securing panel I l) to wall I2 is through the employment of screw 46 having a clip 48 at one end thereof, which yieldably grasps head 50 carried by tape 52. Tape 52 may be supplied to wall-board I0 by adhesive as before set down, and the use of a clip 48 on screw 46 indicates the manner in which the structure of tape 62, several lengths of strip 54, and several' panels I0. Assembly may occur on the job by gluing or cementing tape 62 to panel I0 if tape 62 does not have adhesive thereon, and thereafter mounting strip 54 as before mentioned. Thus, any number of panels l may be removably aflixed to a wall for replacement by others. Screws 38 may be employed, as shown in Fig. 4, to evenly support the panel material I0 to produce a straight, even surface on uneven walls.

The form of the invention shown in Fig. 8 is slightly diierent from the forms illustrated in Figs. 1 to '7 inclusive. In this type of installation, wall I2 has a headed screw 'HJ that extends through opening 72 in panel I0. A finishing strip 14 having a socket 76 therein receives the head of screw I0 and lies in superimposed relation against the outer face of panel l D. Thus the panel may be drilled to provide holes 12 at distances apart equal to the distance between sockets 16 in strip 'M On the job these holes may be drilled and screws TU mounted on wall I2.

To replace panel l0, it is but necessary to withdraw strip I4 from its association with screw and thereafter, lift panel I0 away from wall l2. Materials employed for making the parts shown and described may be varied to suit conditions. Plastic, for example, may form the panel I6 to impart thereto colors of desired shades and to present a washable surface.

It is obvious from the foregoing, walls of all types may be covered with removable paneling and that even finished surfaces are presented by disposing the xtures in alignment in a manner shown in Fig. 4. The specific form of snap fasteners may be altered without departing from the invention, and in fact, structure having characteristics much different from those illustrated and described might be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. Means for removably attaching stiif panels to a supporting wall, comprising anchoring elements mounted cn the wall in spaced apart relation; yieldable parts at each anchoring element for engaging the same to releasably hold the panel in place; and a strip of material common Ytoga number of said parts for mounting the parts on: the panel, said anchoring element having heads disposed in a common plane spaced outwardly from the surface of the wall, whereby to support evenly, the panels over walls having uneven faces.

2. Means for removably attaching stiff panels to a supporting wall, comprising anchoring elements mounted on the wall inspaced apart relation; and yieldable parts at each anchoring element for engaging the same and the panel to re- 

